Pretoria - The labour department is to investigate six companies with "unacceptable" employment equity representation and over 1 000 large companies who failed to submit equity reports, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana said on Monday.
Releasing the sixth report of the Commission for Employment Equity in Pretoria, Mdladlana said there had been little progress. Whites still dominated top and senior management positions within the economy.
Mdladlana said his department was going to act.
"Progress thus far has been very slow... It is of concern to me, and I am sure the majority of the population as well," he said.
Mdladlana named Omnia Group Limited, Medi Clinic Group, Verimark Holdings, Prism Holdings, Comair Limited and Kumba Resources as the six companies with "unacceptable" equity representation and said the director-general of the department, Vanguard Mkosana, would review these companies.
Breaking the law
The review would determine new employment equity plans and actions recommended by the department. If these were not implemented court action could be taken.
The department would also look into 1296 large companies who had not submitted employment equity reports to the commission in 2005.
"What I find very disturbing in the report is the declining trend in reporting by employers... they are in breach of the law," Mdladlana said.
Figures from those companies who had submitted reports showed that while the percentage of whites at top management decreased by 2.3% between 2001 to 2005, they still dominated the top posts with 72.6% white representation compared with 27.2% black (African, coloured and Indian).
At senior management level, blacks accounted for 27.5% of the positions and whites for 72.4%. Among professionals at middle management blacks made up 38.7% and whites 61.3%.
Chairperson of the commission, Jimmy Manyi, said what was further of concern was that recruitment for top, senior and professionally qualified levels still showed whites being targeted.
Lower down among skilled technical and academically qualified workers, and in junior management equity was improving Manyi said, but added that the total picture reminded him of an Irish Coffee.
White crust
"You have a large black mass at the bottom with a thin white cream on top lightly sprinkled with some black," he said.
Until the "white crust was broken" equity in the workplace would not improve.
"The DG must really now start biting," he said referring to the DG's powers for review of companies.
Mdladlana said he was concerned that in too many cases where companies wanted to improve employment equity the case was taken to court.
"It looks like the courts are going to run this country... if we continue at this pace we would most probably reach equitable work places only in 40 to 50 years from now," he said.